Battle of Worringen - Using Lion Rampant

My fellow Hawaiian expat, Kimo, and I got in a nice Lion Rampant game today based on the Battle of Worringen. Kimo chose to run the Archbishop's retinue. This was Kimo's first time with the rules, and only my second time. No worries though as the rules are quite simple and easy to pick up. Here are some images of the game which ended up unhistorical as the Archbishop won handily over he forces of Brabant.

The Archbishop's forces cautiously moving towards the Brabantines. Note the carroccio which was designated the "Leader" model. It was activated for movement with a roll of 8 - which Kimo managed to do quite often. Otherwise it held no combat value.

The "Ferocious Serfs" having managed to reach the confines of the Worringen watchtower first attempt to secure it. Enemy crossbowmen reach the walls opposite the Serfs. They would've been a bit more ferocious with better Attack and Defence Values.

On the western side of the battlefield, the Archbishop's crossbowmen have taken up covered positions in the woods. From there they have already caused numerous Brabantine casualties. Note the Brabantine crossbow unit with white skull casualty markers and a red Battered marker - after failing their Courage test.

A view looking towards the Brabantine forces. Kimo was very cautious with his cavalry which had the Wild Charge rule. The plowed fields halved movement for cavalry, but not for infantry. Note the Serfs trying to stay out of enemy crossbow LOS by moving around the watch tower.

Berg infantry allied with Brabant moving towards infantry belonging to Reginald of Guelders. Note that the Bergers have taken casualties from the enemy crossbowmen hiding in the woods to their left. The Bergers chose not to attack them in the rough terrain - although, in retrospect maybe they should have. They ended up being routed off the field later on.

The Serfs allied with Brabant unwisely take on enemy crossbowmen. Three separate units of Serfs eventually were destroyed or routed off the table during the game. I should have played them historically - at the actual battle they held back until the Archbishop's forces were locked in close combat with the Brabantines.

Remnants of Berg infantry in close combat with Guelders infantry. As both units are classed as Serjeants, the Bergers who charged had a harder To Hit value than the defensive Guelders. The results were as expected.

Infantry of Julich having successfully formed into Schiltron receive the charge by Luxembourg infantry (allied with the Archbishop). Both have already sustained casualties from previous missile fire.

Mounted Men at Arms belonging to the Archbishop having been lured into a Wild Charge by a small unit of Brabantine Serjeants finally get into the action. Although in the defense, the Serjeants failed to hit enough of the enemy to take out a casualty.

After failing their Counter-charge roll, Brabantine cavalry receive Luxembourg Men at Arms. The Brabantines lost the round and ended up failing their Courage test and retreated.

The forces of Jan of Brabant having lost over half of their forces, the game was called a Victory for Siegfried of Westerburg, Archbishop of Cologne. The actual battle was a resounding victory for Jan of Brabant, but bad dice rolls (read failed activations) early on in the game really hindered deployment for the Brabantines. I had lowered the activation for crossbow Shooting from 7 to 6, and this seemed to make them a bit too powerful. Otherwise it was a nice game which flowed smoothly. Kimo suggested that the core rules would work very well for Samurai. Something I may do in the future.